“In my sociology classes I describe the six global challenges in what some have called the penultimate moment of human existence — rising inequality, racial injustice, gender oppression, the pandemic, growing political authoritarianism, and the climate crisis. Ugh.
But look at where we came from. There is no call to Make the Earth Great Again because humanity is “mostly” better off than before. And if history is a guide, we are a resilient and creative species. So I remind my students (and myself) of the following reflection connected to the martyred Salvadorian Archbishop, Oscar Romero.
‘We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way.’
Be kind. Be brave. Work for justice.”
Ryan Alaniz MA,PhD 